Psychological Distance in Hedonic Prediction and Consumption: the Surprising Impact of Distant Events

Jane Ebert, University of Minnesota, USATom Meyvis, New York University, USA

Consumers often underestimate the impact of hedonic experiences (reading newspaper stories, winning a prize) that are psychologically distant (fictitious story, prize later) compared to those that are close (real story, immediate prize), possibly due to absorption in the experience. This error can lead consumers to make suboptimal choices.